Here Are Some Tips To Choosing An Automotive Digital Marketing Agency

A digital marketing campaign is an important component of every auto dealership’s overall marketing strategy. Once you’ve decided to get serious about your automotive digital marketing and hire a digital marketing agency to help increase your foot traffic and sales, the next step is to find the right automotive digital marketing agency. With so many companies advertising their services and sending out emails, it may seem like a difficult task to find the best one. We’ll go over the basics and explain how to make the best choice.

Hire an Agency that Specializes in Automotive Digital Marketing

There are many automotive digital marketing agencies out there, and many of them try to be jacks-of-all-trades. They may promise you the world, but they really can’t help if they don’t understand your business. These generalist agencies may try to convince you that their “proven” strategies will work for any industry. But as you know, the automotive industry runs on a different business model than other companies.

A digital marketing company with no experience in the automotive industry won’t be able to plan a marketing strategy that takes into account the targeting, planning and insights that your dealership needs to grow. So, make sure you choose an automotive digital marketing agency.

Identify the Best Type of Agency For Your Needs

In addition to hiring an agency that specializes in automotive marketing, you’ll also want to narrow down the focus of the agency, to find one that suits your dealership best. Here are two other points to consider:

• Creative vs. Niche: An industry niche agency can get you faster results, however you might not get a fresh approach. On the other side of the coin, a creative agency might come up with some new ideas that will help your dealership get noticed by the industry, although it may take longer to achieve results.
• Local vs. Global Reach: An agency with a global reach may not be the best choice if you’re a local dealership in a small town. An agency with a local focus may be the way to go.

There Is Benefit In Thinking Long Term

Look at your automotive digital marketing agency as a team member of your dealership, rather than a vendor. You’ll want to make sure there’s good communication between your dealership and the agency, so both sides understand the expectations and responsibilities. Openness and transparency will prevent miscommunication, ensuring you get the results you’re looking for.

Understand How the Agency Attributes Sales

Many automotive digital marketing companies define success by metrics such as the number of clicks. While clicks are an important step in the sales cycle, your dealership can’t take clicks to the bank. Remember, you’re paying an automotive digital marketing agency to help you sell more cars, not merely drive traffic to your website.

When you’re vetting a potential agency for your dealership, ask if they provide point-of-sale matchback. Rather than assuming that many clicks equal many sales, a matchback allows you to link specific transactions with specific marketing factors. Instead of tracking indiscriminate clicks to your website, it will show that you’re driving the right kind of traffic to your dealership’s website.

Know Where the Digital Marketing Agency Gets Their Data

When you’re considering a digital marketing agency for your dealership, you should understand that an agency is only as good as the quality of its data. An effective marketing strategy is one that gets the right message to the right people at the right time.

Targeting potential customers based on their behavior can only be successful if the data is up to date. Third-party lists won’t provide the marketing agency with the high-quality data necessary to target customers effectively.

Selecting the best automotive marketing agency requires diligence and research. Many agencies will make promises, some of which they can’t deliver. The best course of action is to research the company and consider our tips carefully. If you do, you’re likely to find the perfect agency for your dealership.